This invention relates in general to an improved structure for a sulky for use with a self propelled lawn mower.
Lawn mowers are well known devices that are commonly used to cut grass and otherwise maintain the aesthetic appearance of lawns and other tracts of land. A typical lawn mower includes a frame that is supported on a plurality of wheels for rolling movement over the lawn. An engine or other source of rotational power is carried on the frame for selectively rotating a blade that cuts the grass. In the past, lawn mowers were manually pushed across the lawn by the operator. Although effective, such manually propelled lawn mowers have been found to be somewhat tiring to use. To address this, it is known to provide a seat on the frame of the lawn mower to allow the operator to sit thereon during use. In such instances, the engine has been connected to rotatably drive one or more wheels of the lawn mower such that it and the operator are self propelled across the lawn. A variety of such manually propelled and sit-down self propelled lawn mowers are known in the art.
In certain instances, such as in the lawn care industry, the use of manually propelled and sit-down self propelled lawn mowers has not been found to be efficient. In those instance, it has been found to be desirable to provide a self propelled lawn mower with a towed sulky, upon which the operator stands and is towed during use. A typical sulky structures includes a platform that is supported above the ground by one or more wheels. The platform is secured to the self propelled lawn mower by a bar or linkage. The operator of the lawn mower stands upon the platform and is towed by the lawn mower during use. Although a variety of sulky structures are known in the art, they have suffered from various deficiencies. Thus, it would be desirable to provide an improved structure for a sulky for use with a self propelled lawn mower.
This invention relates to an improved structure for a sulky for use with a self propelled lawn mower. In a first embodiment, the sulky includes a mounting bracket that can be secured to the rear end of a housing of the lawn mower. The mounting bracket has a pair of opposed upstanding mounting ears. The sulky also includes a pivot arm having a first end that is connected to the mounting bracket. To accomplish this, the first end of the pivot arm has a horizontally extending hollow tubular member that is sized to fit between the mounting ears secured to the mounting bracket. A kick pin can be inserted through the aligned openings formed through the mounting ears and the tubular member to pivotably connect the first end of the pivot arm to the mounting bracket. The pivot arm has a second end that is provided with a vertically extending hollow tubular member. The sulky further includes a yoke member including a pair of yoke arms and a mounting pin. The yoke arms have respective aligned openings formed therethrough. The interior of the hollow tubular member can be aligned with the openings formed through the yoke arms, and a retaining structure can be inserted through the aligned openings formed through the yoke arms and through the tubular member to pivotably connect the yoke member to the second end of the pivot arm. Lastly, the sulky includes an operator platform assembly including a hollow tubular support tube that is pivotably connected to the mounting pin. A standing platform is formed integrally with or secured to the support tube to support an operator of the sulky during use. A wheel is rotatably secured to each side of the standing platform. As the lawn mower is operated, the operator stands on the standing platform and is towed behind the lawn mower. The pivot arm of the sulky can pivot upwardly and downwardly relative to the mounting bracket to accommodate upward and downward movement of the standing platform relative to the lawn mower, such as would occur when the lawn mower is operated over hilly terrain. The yoke member of the sulky can pivot laterally (i.e., about a vertical axis defined by the pivot pin) relative to the pivot arm to accommodate turning movement of the standing platform relative to the lawn mower, such as would occur when the lawn mower is operated through a left or right turn. Lastly, the support tube and the standing platform can pivot transversely relative to the mounting pin (i.e., about a longitudinal axis extending generally parallel with the mounting pin) to accommodate transverse pivoting movement of the standing platform relative to the lawn mower, such as would occur when the lawn mower is operated over laterally uneven terrain.
In a second embodiment, the sulky includes a mounting bracket that can be secured to the rear end of a housing of the lawn mower. The mounting bracket has a pair of opposed upstanding mounting ears having a hollow support tube extending therebetween. The sulky also includes a pivot arm having a first end that is connected to the mounting bracket. To accomplish this, the first end of the pivot arm has a first pair of spaced apart yoke arms having respective axially aligned openings formed therethrough. The first yoke arms are spaced apart from one another by a distance that is slightly greater than the distance separating the mounting ears on the mounting bracket. Thus, the first yoke arms of the pivot arm can be disposed about the mounting ears such that the openings formed through the first yoke arms are aligned with the support tube. A retaining structure, such as a kick pin, can be inserted through the aligned openings formed through the yoke arms and the support tube to pivotably connect the first end of the pivot arm to the mounting bracket. The pivot arm has a second end that is provided with a vertically extending hollow tubular member. The sulky further includes a yoke member including a pair of yoke arms and a mounting pin. The yoke arms have respective aligned openings formed therethrough. The interior of the hollow tubular member can be aligned with the openings formed through the yoke arms, and a retaining structure can be inserted through the aligned openings formed through the yoke arms and through the tubular member to pivotably connect the yoke member to the second end of the pivot arm. Lastly, the sulky includes an operator platform assembly including a hollow tubular support tube that is pivotably connected to the mounting pin. A standing platform is formed integrally with or secured to the support tube to support an operator of the sulky during use. A wheel is rotatably secured to each side of the standing platform. As the lawn mower is operated, the operator stands on the standing platform and is towed behind the lawn mower. The pivot arm of the sulky can pivot upwardly and downwardly relative to the mounting bracket to accommodate upward and downward movement of the standing platform relative to the lawn mower, such as would occur when the lawn mower is operated over hilly terrain. The yoke member of the sulky can pivot laterally (i.e., about a vertical axis defined by the pivot pin) relative to the pivot arm to accommodate turning movement of the standing platform relative to the lawn mower, such as would occur when the lawn mower is operated through a left or right turn. Lastly, the support tube and the standing platform can pivot transversely relative to the mounting pin (i.e., about a longitudinal axis extending generally parallel with the mounting pin) to accommodate transverse pivoting movement of the standing platform relative to the lawn mower, such as would occur when the lawn mower is operated over laterally uneven terrain.
In a third embodiment, the sulky includes a mounting bracket that can be secured to the rear end of a housing of the lawn mower. The mounting bracket has a pair of opposed upstanding mounting ears having a hollow support tube extending therebetween. The sulky also includes a pivot arm having a first yoke end that is pivotably connected to the upstanding ears of the mounting bracket by a kick pin. The sulky further includes an operator platform assembly including a support bar that is pivotably connected to a second yoke end provided on the pivot arm. A pair of wheel assemblies are mounted on respective side portions of the support arm. A standing platform is secured to the central portion of the support bar to support an operator of the sulky during use. As the lawn mower is operated, the operator stands on the standing platform and is towed behind the lawn mower. The pivot arm of the sulky can pivot upwardly and downwardly relative to the mounting bracket to accommodate upward and downward movement of the standing platform relative to the lawn mower, such as would occur when the lawn mower is operated over hilly terrain. The central portion of the support bar of the sulky can pivot transversely relative to the pivot arm to accommodate transverse movement of the standing platform relative to the lawn mower, such as would occur when the lawn mower is operated over laterally uneven terrain. Lastly, the wheels of the sulky can pivot about a vertical axis relative to the angled side portions to accommodate turning movement of the standing platform relative to the lawn mower, such as would occur when the lawn mower is operated through a left or right turn.
Various objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, when read in light of the accompanying drawings.